Ca. II

I became very good at scheduling my time that trip. Not only that but I found that if I got up & went out early in the morning, before my family even got up, it would give a lot more time to practice my new hobby. I was on the beach between 5:00 & 5:30 AM in the morning. I would meet back up with my family around 7:00 on most days, when I could pull myself from the water in the morning. I would go through what ever activity my mom had planned for us that morning & then I would try to catch a wave or 2 at lunch time. When everyone was sitting down for a meal, I just grabbed a quick bite & hit the beach. Then again as long as my mom did not have activities planned at night, I would try to surf for at least a while if it was possible.

Along with all of the activities & surfing there was a lot of driving. I had talked my parents into buying me a board the same day that I learned how to use it. Luckily we had the VW so we just latched it down to the top of the van. We only had an hour or 2 of driving a day. It was not like we were seeing the whole United States. We were travelling down the California coastline & we had 2 weeks to do it. We would either stay with family or friends most of the nights but there was occasion for us to stay at a hotel too.

I was out there on the beach a lot during that trip & I met a lot of new friends. People who were interested in surfing just as much as I was. I may have lived in Sacramento which is not very close to the ocean but I met so many new people who I would stay in touch with & eventually I would always have a friend to stay with whenever I went to the beach. I would try to schedule trips as often as possible after that first one. I was infatuated. I could not get enough & I would often ask my parents to let me go stay at a friends house for the weekend to enjoy a little surfing. As long as I was on top of my school work & was not in any trouble they almost always let me go.

I still take out the old surd board whenever I get the chance. I have many times thanked my folks for the experience & they see me now teaching my son about the ocean. They always tell me that seeing me teaching my son is reward enough for them.